Honor Run Half 2018 Race Report

There were a few things working in my favor this race, and a few not so much.

Working in my favor: training. As I mentioned on the Race Preview, I had put a lot of time and effort into that advanced training plan. IT. PAID. OFF. I kicked the hills’s asses with little added effort. I felt strong the entire way.

Working against me: the cold and my gut. It was so cold my first fluid was a Gatorade Slushie (lemon-lime, my favorite!). I ran off from that aid station with some leftover Gatorade frozen in my mustache (no joke, and I was quite amused by this). The cold was also so bad that there was a large ice patch in the parking lot within the first mile and some of the aid stations had spread salt around their station to prevent freezing. My gut decided it wanted to aggravate me the entire race. As soon as I crossed the finish line, I walked to the mall to use the restroom (which I probably should have done during the race).

The Breakdown

My pre-race was staying in my car as long as possible until I needed to head towards the start/finish line. I did some light jogging as a warm up and got into the starting grid right at 6:45 as they were starting pre-race ceremonies.

Yes, the water tower says “FLORENCE Y’ALL”. Legend has it that the tower said FLORENCE MALL and people were upset about it advertising for the mall that didn’t pay for the tower, so they took off parts of the M to make a Y.

The first half was largely me not-pushing-myself to ensure I didn’t die out on the second half. There was a large ice patch within the first mile causing everyone to slow down, and I pointed out several smaller ice patches on the mall property. Just past mile 2, there was a large patch that was coned off. The hill in mile 2 was nothing to me. I skipped the first water stop at mile 2 and took Gatorade from the second station at mile 4. Around mile 5, I decided to channel my inner Eluid Kipchoge and try smiling. The first 6 miles were 8:06, 7:44, 7:40, 7:58, 7:51, 7:44. First half split around 51:19. Somewhere around here I took my Gatorade Endurance Gel (apple-pear… my current favorite).

The second half was more me attempting to channel my inner Eluid Kipchoge and smile, keep my gut at a rest, and handle the hills. The hills were the easiest, followed by smiling. The highlights were the mile 8 water station, a ham radio friend standing just past there (out of his vehicle, standing and watching like a badass), and Mr. Red at mile 11.35 noticing my mustache. The lowlight was the mile 10 water station that just phoned it in (they were standing IN FRONT OF the table NOT handing out cups. Seriously, either own your volunteer “job” or GTFO of the way!).

Mr. Red. He has a very large mustache. — Mr. Red. Yeah, he was out in the 22F temps at the Honor Run Half!

The splits were 7:50, 7:38, 7:47, 8:05, 7:57, 7:50, 7:45, and 0:42 (for that pesky 0.1). Second half split was around 51:14, so a negative split by 5 seconds. Overall time of 1:42:33, which is a PR by 6:20!

There may be more pictures as they become available (last year they provided pictures for free).

Postrace

I didn’t stick around long. On my way from the finish line to the mall (I walked around a little to reduce any leg soreness that would have been experienced if I sat immediately after), I grabbed a chocolate milk and a turkey sandwich. The sandwich was disgustingly salty and I spit out my one bite and dropped the rest in the trash. After using the restroom, I stepped outside and immediately shivered, so I grabbed a goetta sandwich (far less salty than the turkey sandwich) and a bottle of Gatorade and went to my truck.

March 4, 2018November 7, 2018

Last Week in Running – March 3, 2018 – Special Bockfest 5k Edition

This is a pull-back week. I was supposed to take Thursday and Friday off and run a half marathon on Saturday, but I really didn’t want to run a 10 mile warm up for a 5k, so I decided to run 10 miles on Thursday, take a break Friday, and run the 5k on Saturday.

Monday was the normal form drills + 4 miles + 7 strides. Many places I normally run were underwater, so I ran where I could and ended up running a little longer. I crossed the Purple People Bridge, ran down 4th Street in Newport and Covington and across the Clay Wade Bailey bridge to Cincinnati and back into Covington via the Suspension Bridge, back across 4th Street into Newport and then back across the Purple People Bridge into Cincinnati. 5.4 miles in 47 minutes.

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Tuesday was a slightly nicer day, and I did 5 miles. Just ran. I did end up going through an area that was muddy due to floodwaters. I crossed the Purple People Bridge, ran across 4th Street taking a short loop across the Newport Floodwall (western side, from 4th to the end near the Taylor Southgate Bridge), and then along 4th Street in Covington and across the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge. I did try to join up to a few guys running across the Clay Wade Bailey bridge, but as they slowed I didn’t, so I ended up passing them. I ran down next to the Schmidlapp Event Lawn and down to the riverfront parks where I had to slow down to go over some wet mud and then back to Pete Rose Way. 5 miles in 45 minutes..

Wednesday was a beautiful morning to run. Things are starting to dry out and I got some of my running areas back, although some places were still “closed” and some were closed to traffic. I did my form drills in the same area I normally do, and went through some of the flatter riverside area until I ran out of room to run, so I ran out of the park, running around a barricade from the ‘closed’ side (parcours style – hop up on a curb and then onto a bench and then back down to the sidewalk) and across the Purple People Bridge and then back across the Taylor Southgate Bridge, scaring an oblivious pedestrian (news flash, pal – there’s a sidewalk here!). Back into the park to stretch (running around the same barricade noted above two more times, the second time probably pissing off the park workers). 5.6 miles in 46 minutes.

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During my lunch on Wednesday, I went out for a walk to a local running store and bought two belt packs. I found that two of the belt packs I own have clasps, buckles, and loops in a very stupid spot – the side. This digs into me and becomes very painful very quick. So I made sure the two I purchased had clasps only on the front. Both are Nathan brand, which I already have a handheld water bottle that is the same as what is used in one of these.

Thursday’s 10 mile run started slow, and it was a rainy day. I was slow on mile 1, which was the start and going up the Purple People Bridge and then again in mile 3, partly due to going up a set of stairs up to the Newport Floodwall. After mile 3 and especially after mile 5, I sped up (not really intentionally until near the end). I’m starting to get back to my normal running areas, although I have to watch the mud still. I ran across the Purple People Bridge, down to the levee and around the parking lot where Joe’s Crab Shack and Burger King are, back to the west floodwall and up the steps to the floodwall. Then across 4th Street into Covington where I ducked onto some side streets to get to the Suspension Bridge. Crossed the suspension Bridge back into Cincinnati where I went west to the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge and crossed back into Covington. Ran down 4th Street into Newport and onto the new portion of KY-9 to get to the Taylor-Southgate Bridge, where I crossed back into Cincinnati and ran along Pete Rose Way to the entrance of Sawyer Point. When I entered Sawyer Point, I had about 0.3 miles left, so I practiced my kick. Despite being 10 miles, I felt oddly good at the end. 10 miles in 1:26:48.

Friday was an off day. Since I didn’t run, I went to packet pickup during my lunch break.

Bockfest 5k

Saturday was the Bockfest 5k. First race of the season. I parked at my work’s parking lot, used the restroom in the office (there was a lot of people there for a Saturday, but I think they were all in the accounting company… tax time), and jogged about 1.5 miles to Bockfest Hall. Tried to use one of the port-o-lets before the race, but the line was longer than the race. I held it and ran hard. According to my watch, 23:05 (which I’d link to Garmin Connect, but it appears to be having issues), according to the official results, 23:13. Per the watch, 7:37, 7:07, 7:31. I’ll take those splits any day! Also, 25th in my division and 148th (out of 2,428) isn’t bad either!

Link to Race on Garmin Connect (will be updated when I or Garmin fixes stuff) • Link to BibRave Review

Cheers!

November 12, 2017December 4, 2017

Honor Run Half Race Report

The Honor Run Half was on November 12, 2017 in Florence, Kentucky. I was on track for another PR until I strained my back a week before the race.

Prep

As usual, I followed a modified Hal Higdon Intermediate-2 Plan. I hit all of my training paces through the cycle. I was a week ahead of the schedule, so my last long run was 13.02 miles (I didn’t stop at 13.0 because of perceived unlucky… boy, was I wrong!)

The day after the last long run, I was doing yard work (I like mowing the lawn on the day after my long run because it’s a bunch of non-strenuous walking). My back started bothering me and was in full-on strain mode the following day.

My taper week consisted of zero miles. In fact, I was tempted to take a DNS. However, by Saturday my back felt okay, so I decided to run, but keeping it easy.

The morning of consisted of two slices of toast with peanut butter and honey and a cup of coffee for the drive to Florence.

Goals

Originally, I had these goals:

A: 1:43

B: 1:45

C: 1:50

However, after the back strain, I abandoned all hope of any of them and just wanted to finish a good run.

Race

The race temperature was about 35°F. I wore shorts, last year’s Honor Run Half shirt, gloves, and a running hat. Roughly 15 minutes before the race, I took a Gu and ran into a fellow Twitter Runner.

Part 1: Miles 1 to 4

I kept it easy by feel. This part isn’t too bad with hills, but it is not flat (there is nothing flat in Northern Kentucky). I took water at mile 4.

8:18, 8:17, 8:20, 8:24

Part 2: Miles 5 to 8

This part felt tougher. There is a portion through Turfway Park that was rough and I was feeling it in my back. There is a tight hairpin turn at mile 6, and a pretty significant uphill from 6 to 8. I took Gu in mile 7, and water at mile 8.

8:31, 8:28, 8:48, 8:41

Part 3: Miles 9 to 13.1

There is a hairpin turn at mile 9, mile 10 is almost entirely uphill, and the hills in miles 11 and 12 are the steepest in the race. I had to squash some negative thoughts through this part.

8:49, 8:33,8:46,8:41,8:36, 0:53

Total: 1:52:01

After

First off, this is the biggest medal I’ve ever received!

Biggest Medal in my collection (I’m in the middle between an aunt and an uncle)

I didn’t eat much, but I drank 3 cups of coffee (to warm up!), and half a bottle of water that I finished on the way home, I also drank a Gatorade on my way home. I had my heat on high on my way home, and even sat in front of the fireplace while waiting for the bathroom to be free.

Post-Run Thoughts

I should have probably taken Gu around mile 5 and 10 instead of once at mile 7. I think it was a little too late and my pace suffered as a result.

Running up the big-ass hill really helped with the hills. I felt strong on every one of them.

This is the end of the 2017 season for me. At this point, it will be more maintenance to keep up fitness and prepare for marathon training.

Cheers!

November 18, 2016

Race Report: Honor Run Half Marathon

Race Date: 11/13/16
Race Location: Florence, Kentucky

Goals:
A: 1:51
B: 1:55
C: <2:01

Preparation

I followed the Hal Higdon Intermediate 2 Plan with one exception – I didn’t do the cross-training. The plan was different than what I’ve been used to – I’ve tended to stick with one speedwork and one long run a week, this had two speedwork and the long run.

The only notable day during training was the 11 mile long run. I had to fly from Cincinnati (where I live) to Raleigh and run there in the middle of the day. Despite bringing water and looking for a good course, I got lost and had an overall tough run (although I did finish it).

Race Day

Conditions: 33, clear. I began the day with coffee and two slices of cheap wheat bread with peanut butter and honey drizzled on top. It takes around 45 minutes to drive to Florence from where I live, so I sipped coffee on the way. At the starting area (a mall), I used the restroom and lined up on the starting line.

Dress: I looked at the temperature where I live, which is around 25 miles ENE from the starting line, and it was 28. So pants, long sleeves, pullover, and gloves. Around mile 3 of the race, I was too warm and took the pullover off and tied it around my waist.

The Course: suburban hell. Lots of very wide streets, all closed. It was interesting to look left and right at intersections and be near the middle of a five-lane-road crossing another five-lane-road, both empty. The first part, start to mile 4.5 is wide open roads. The next part, 4.5 to 7.0 is through the Turfway Park parking lot and a two-lane road with a sharp turn. After that is another wide open road, with some substantial hills, mile 7.0 to 11.4. The final stretch is on a narrow and very hilly road that goes between a golf course and the freeway until it cuts through a parking lot and back onto a major road and then into the mall parking lot.

The race felt fast. At one point (maybe mile 5 or 6), it felt like the miles were just ticking off. It helped some that the field was not huge (there were 875 runners; compared to the Flying Pig Half had over 11,000 runners in the half both years that I ran it, and almost 17,000 runners and walkers in the half, full, and relays). It also helped that I stuck to the tangent line – at times this meant going up less of a hill because of the superelevation (banking) of the turns.

Fuel: I stuck to Gu’s recommendation of 15 minutes before (it was closer to 20). Beyond that, I took Gu at 4.5 and 9 miles, which is the same fueling schedule I’ve used in the past. I took water at the 4, 6, and 10 mile marks.

Official time: 1:50:02, 8:23 min/mile.

Split	Time
1	08:07.1
2	08:17.9
3	08:19.9
4	08:28.7
5	08:31.5
6	08:22.4
7	08:33.7
8	08:07.4
9	08:30.9
10	08:41.4
11	08:30.7
12	08:25.4
13	08:14.9
14	00:52.7

Places:

124 / 875 overall
94 / 400 men
11 / 48 Age Group

Workout on Garmin Connect

Great way to finish the season. Next race is not until March, 5 months from now.